Father Christmas
(England)
Father Christmas is the traditional British name for
a figure associated with Christmas, a forerunner of
Santa Claus. The term is also used in many Englishspeaking countries outside Britain.
He does not distribute presents to children but is
associated with adult celebrations. Giving news of
Christ's birth, Father Christmas encourages
everyone to eat and drink: "Make good cheer and
be right merry." Since the mid-Victorian era
however, Father Christmas has gradually merged
with the pre-modern gift-giver St Nicholas
associated folklore. Nowadays, most people
consider Santa Claus and Father Christmas to be
different names for the same figure.
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
(The Netherlands)
Sinterklaas is a traditional figure based on Saint
Nicholas who gives gifts to children on the night
before Saint Nicholas Day (December 5th) in the
Netherlands and on the morning of 6 December,
Saint Nicholas Day itself, in Belgium,
Luxembourg, and Northern France.
He traditionally rides a white horse and carries a
big book that tells whether each child has been
good or naughty in the past year.
Zwarte Piet is a companion of Sinterklaas, usually
portrayed by a man in blackface with black curly
hair, dressed up like a 17th-century page in colorful
dress, often sporting a lace collar and a feathered
cap. The tradition of Zwarte Piet appears to date
back at least as far as the early 19th Century.
Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet usually carry a bag
which contains candy for nice children and a roe, a
chimney sweep's broom made of willow branches,
used to spank naughty children. Some of the older
Sinterklaas songs make mention of naughty
children being put in the bag and being taken back
to Spain. The Zwarte Pieten toss candy around, a
tradition supposedly originating in the story of
Saint Nicholas's saving three young girls from
prostitution by tossing golden coins through their
window at night to pay their dowries.
Ded Moroz and Snegurochka
(Father Frost and the Snow Maiden)
(Russia & other Slavic countries)
Ded Moroz is said to bring presents to children;
however, unlike the secretive Santa Claus, the gifts
are often delivered "in person" at New Year's Eve
parties and other New Year celebrations.
Although it may look like the Snow Maiden found
herself a nice sugar daddy to give her the things she
wants, Snegurochka is actually the granddaughter
of Father Frost. She is a unique attribute of Ded
Moroz; no traditional gift-givers from other cultures
are portrayed with a female companion.
The earliest tales of Ded Moroz presented him as a
wicked and cruel sorcerer, similar to the Old Slavic
gods "Pozvizd"—the god of wind and good and bad
weather, "Zimnik"—god of winter, and the
terrifying, "Korochun"—an underworld god ruling
over frosts. According to legend, Ded Moroz liked
to freeze people and kidnap children, taking them
away in his gigantic sack. Parents were said to have
to give him presents as a ransom in return for their
children. Under the influence of Orthodox
traditions, the character of Ded Moroz was
completely transformed into a benevolent figure.
In early Soviet Union, the tradition of Christmas
was banned, together with other Christian
traditions. However in 1935 the celebration of the
New Year was allowed, which included, in part, the
fir tree and Ded Moroz. The image of Ded Moroz
took its current form during these times, becoming
the main symbol of the New Year’s holiday that
replaced Christmas. During Stalinist times, Ded
Moroz, Snegurochka, and New Year Boy were
featured in Communist-type Nativity scenes with
Ded Moroz as the equivalent of Joseph,
Snegurochka as the equivalent of Mary, and the
New Year Boy as the equivalent of the Christ child.
Santa’s Foreign Helpers
(Europe)
Depending on the culture, Santa can be followed by
characters like Le Père Fouettard (France) or
Krampus (Germany).
Le Père Fouettard
(France)
Le Père Fouettard is a sinister figure dressed in
black who accompanies Saint Nicolas in his rounds
during St. Nicholas' Day (December 6th)
dispensing lumps of coal and/or spankings (with a
whip) to the naughty children while St. Nick gives
gifts to the well behaved.
The most popular story about the origin of Le Père
Fouettard was first told in the year 1150. Le Père
Fouettard, an innkeeper (or in other versions a
butcher), captures three boys who appear to be
wealthy and on their way to enroll in a religious
boarding school. Along with his wife, he kills the
children in order to rob them. One gruesome
version tells that they drug the children, slit their
throats, cut them into pieces, and stew them in a
barrel. St. Nicholas discovers the crime and
resurrects the children. After this, Le Père Fouettard
repents and becomes St. Nick's partner. A slightly
altered version of this story claims that St. Nicholas
forced Le Père Fouettard to become his assistant as
a punishment for his crimes.
Krampus
(Germany)
On December 5th in places like in Austria,
Switzerland, Croatia and Germany, children may
face Krampus. American kids have never truly
earned a Christmas gift—they know that no matter
how bad they've been all year, there's still probably
an iPod with their name on it come December 25th.
There's a reason you don't see that same sense of
self-entitlement in German kids, and that reason is
Krampus, the Christmas Demon.
While smug American children sleep easy knowing
the old "lump of coal" threat is empty and baseless,
many naughty European children are annually
threatened with a Pagan Fertility Demon from
deepest, darkest hell—a goat-legged, horned satyr
who won't leave coal as much as he will beat them
savagely for their misdeeds and then drag them to
hell (it's somewhat more effective).
Krampus is St. Nick's right hand man: a good
cop/bad cop team of pure emotional torture. If it's
decided you're good (AND you pass a grueling
pop-quiz on religious catechism, in some
traditions), the gifts are yours. If not, you are
swiftly whipped raw and right to the edge of death
by Krampus' unrelenting birch rods.
As a young German child you may reach an age
where you don't believe in Krampus anymore. And
that's about the time a herd of men dressed as
Krampus—or Krampi, I guess—will approach your
bedroom window, in full-Satan regalia, rattling
rusty chains and large bells and screaming at
you...every December 5th. And while you're peeing
in your lederhosen, your parents then LET THEM
IN THE HOUSE, LET THEM TORMENT YOU,
AND THEN HAVE DRINKS WITH THEM.
According to a series of very popular 1800s
postcards, Krampus enjoyed: ripping pigtails out,
leading children off a cliff, sadistic ear-pulling,
putting pre-teens in shackles, forcing children to
beg for mercy, and throwing youngsters on an
Express Train to The Lake of Fire (making no local
stops). And then there's my favorite: drowning
children to death in ink and fishing out the corpse
with a pitchfork.
Tomte
(Sweden)
A tomte is a mythological creature from
Scandinavian folklore typically associated with the
winter solstice and the Christmas season. It is
generally no taller than three feet, has a long white
beard and wears colorful clothes. It is known as a
gift bearer and is considered the Swedish and
Norwegian version of Santa Claus.
According to tradition, tomtes secretly live in
houses and act as their guardian. If treated well,
they protect children and animals from evil and
misfortune, and they also help with chores and farm
work. However, they are known to have a temper,
especially when they are offended.
Despite his smallness, the tomte possesses an
immense strength. Even though he was protective
and caring he was easily offended, and his
retributions ranged from small pranks to more
sociopathical punishments like killing off the
livestock or ruining of the farm's fortune.
One was required to please the spirit with gifts—a
particular gift was a bowl of porridge topped with
butter on Christmas night. If the tomte was not
given his payment, he would leave the farm or
house, or engage in mischief such as tying the
cows' tails together in the barn, turning objects
upside-down, and breaking things.
In a Norwegian tale, a maid decided to eat tomte’s
porridge herself, and ended up severely beaten. The
being swore: "If you have eaten the porridge for the
tomte, you have to dance with him!" The farmer
found her nearly lifeless the morning after.
The Yule Lads
(Iceland)
The Yule Lads, or Yulemen, are figures from
Icelandic folklore who, in modern times, have
become the Icelandic version of Santa Claus. Their
number has varied throughout the ages, but
currently they are considered to be thirteen. In the
past, each individual Lad ranged from being a mere
prankster to a homicidal monster who eats children.
They put rewards or punishments into shoes placed
by children in windowsills during the last thirteen
nights before Christmas Eve. Every night, one
Yuletide lad visits each child, leaving gifts or
rotting potatoes, depending on the child’s behavior
throughout the year.
The Yule Lads were originally portrayed as being
mischievous, or even criminal, pranksters who
would steal from, or in other way harass, the
population. They would trek from the mountains to
scare Icelandic children who misbehaved before
Christmas. Additionally, the Yule Lads are often
depicted with the Yule Cat, a beast that, according
to folklore, eats children who don't receive new
clothes for Christmas.
In modern times the Yule Lads have been depicted
as taking on a more benevolent role comparable to
Santa Claus and other related figures.
Joulupukki
(Finland)
Joulupukki is an old Scandinavian custom and
Finnish Christmas figure. The name "Joulupukki"
literally means "Christmas goat." The figure
eventually became more or less conflated with
Santa Claus. He is connected to Wōden of Norse
mythology and said to wear red leather pants and a
fur trimmed red leather coat.
The Joulupukki may also be a man turned into a
goat-man on Christmas Eve. There persists today in
some parts of Finland the custom of persons
dressing in goat costume to perform in return for
leftover food after Christmas. Historically, such a
person was an older man, and the tradition refers to
him as a nuuttipukki.
Today, Joulupukki looks and behaves mostly like
his American cousin, but there are differences.
Joulupukki's house and workshop are situated in the
mountains of Korvatunturi, whereas his American
counterpart resides somewhere near the North Pole.